The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance
by weezerz2490
Summary: What if Carol wasn't the only modern girl to be sent back to Ancient Egypt? What will happen when her cousin ends up going along for the ride? Can history survive TWO spunky girls being thrown out of time?
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Since the original series first started running back in the 1970s, I've decided that will be the decade that the 'modern era' that Carol and the OC are originally from is set in. I'll try not to make everyone too OOC. This is just part of the back story for my OC, Bonnie Chance. (BTW, this earthquake really happened. All information on it was found/taken from earthquake. usgs. gov)

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

* * *

**May 22, 1971  
Several miles outside of Bingöl, Turkey**

"Bonnie!" A beautiful brunette woman called out to her eleven-year-old daughter.

"Yeah, Mom?" The little redhead called back, looking up from the book she had been reading beneath the shade of a tarp.

"Supper's ready, go let your father and the other workers know!"

"'Kay!" Bonnie said, dog-earing her place in the book before jumping up to head over to the dig site. As was the usual case whenever they discovered some new ancient ruins, her father the archaeologist was always right in there in the dirt with the rest of the diggers, practically living in the ruins for all the time he spent in them. Not that she could blame him. She liked to help out, too. "Hey, everyone!" Bonnie called out in Turkish as she arrived at the edge of the dig, smiling as she looked down into the maze of rooms they had excavated. "Supper's ready!"

"All right, everyone. I guess that's our cue to quit for the day." Her father said good-naturedly, earning a couple of cheers from the rest of the hungry and tired men, who wasted very little time straightening up upon receiving their dismissal for the evening. "Hey, Bonnie!" He called up to his daughter as she turned to leave. "Before you go, come and take a look at this!"

"What is it?" Bonnie asked curiously, carefully descending the stairs on the temporary scaffolding they had installed.

"I found this hidden in a compartment on one of these walls." He said once she was next to him, showing her the small statuette he was carefully cradling in his hands.

"Oh, wow…" Bonnie breathed, impressed. "It looks like one of those ancestor worship idols from ancient Sumer, the ones with lapis lazuli eyes."

"Yes, some ancient cultures believed blue eyes were a sign of the gods." Her father said, pleased with her reaction. "And if you look even closer, you can also see traces of red ochre still clinging to the crevices in between the carved braids hair."

"Oh! You're right. Isn't that really unusual?" She asked, blinking in surprise.

"It is!" Her father said excitedly. "I think the woman this represents was a blue-eyed redhead. I'm Thinking of calling her 'Bonnie'." The real Bonnie sweat-dropped and smiled wryly.

'I had a feeling that was coming…' She thought, a little embarrassed. Her parents were always trying to name stuff after her. "But I didn't know they had any redheads in this region back then." She said, changing the subject.

"Well, there are actually some records of accounts from the Greeks that indicate there were some redheaded Thracians, but those are from a later era… Maybe—"

_RUMBLE…_

"_!_?" They both gasped in alarm when the earth quaked fiercely beneath their feet, knocking them off balance, as the walls around them trembled. Bonnie's eyes widened when she realized part of the thick and heavy brick wall behind them had split and was falling towards her.

_"Bonnie!_!"

CRASH! _WHAM!_!

Bonnie opened her eyes after she hit the ground, surprised to find herself relatively uninjured and underneath something warm. She glanced over her shoulder and gasped. It was her dad. He had thrown himself in between her and the wall at the last minute. Blood was running down the side of his face, and his arms were shaking from the effort of holding himself up under the weight of the stone to keep her from being crushed.

"Crawl out… Quick!" He snapped urgently. Bonnie quickly did as he said.

"H-Hold on, Dad!" She said shakily, running to get something to push under the wall to hold it up. "I'll find something to use as a lever or—_!_?"

The earth quaked, even more violently than before, and Bonnie heard the sound of more stone crashing to the ground she was thrown into a face plant. Bonnie grunted in pain and tried to get a purchase of some kind to hold herself steady, feeling as though she could be thrown off the earth from the force with which it was shaking. All around her, the ruins that had been preserved for thousands of years beneath the sand and dirt crumbled. And then, it happened. Her eyes widened in horror when she felt something hot, wet, and sticky begin to soak one of her socks, and a trickle of crimson liquid rolled past her face in the sand.

_… No…_

As soon as the quake stopped, she pushed herself up into a sitting position and whipped her head around to check on her dad. The wall he had been struggling to hold up was now lying completely flat. Heavy debris and a ton of sand had fallen on top of it during the second tremor. Bonnie's father had been crushed to death.

"_NOOOOOOO!_!" She screamed with so much anguish, that those who were left heard its echoes far beyond the boundaries of their camp. Bonnie screamed again, clenching some of the sand in her fists and throwing it away in a fit, desperately trying to pull the rubble off of her father as it began to rain. _He wasn't dead!_ _He couldn't be dead!_!

"Miss Bonnie!" One of the workers shouted as the came running back after hearing her scream. "Miss Bonnie!"

But Bonnie couldn't hear him. She was in shock, numb to everything around her except the pointless battle of digging her father out.

"Miss Bonnie! Stop it, you'll hurt yourself!"

"He's not dead… He's not dead…!" She repeated over and over again like a mantra, like if she believed in it hard enough, she could save him.

"Miss Bonnie!" The worker yelled, shaking her.

"No! He's not—"

SLAP!

Bonnie stared up that man with wide eyes. She raised a hand to touch her stinging cheek, stunned. She saw the fear and guilt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Bonnie. But your mother needs you."

"My… mom…?" She asked numbly.

"Yes, your mother. She is injured." He said, lifting the petite girl onto her feet.

"!" Bonnie gasped when what he was trying to tell her penetrated her shock. "What? Where is she_!_? Please take me to her, Tarik!"

Tarik helped her climb out of the ruined dig site and lead her back to their camp, which had been completely and utterly destroyed. Lots of people had apparently been injured, but fortunately there didn't seem to be any dead since the camp was mostly just a collection of tents, which weren't that heavy on their own.

"Mom!" Bonnie cried out when she spotted her mother being loaded onto the back of a truck her father had rented on a makeshift stretcher, along with some of the more severely injured so they could be taken to a hospital.

"A shelf of artifacts fell on her." Tarik explained quickly as Bonnie hopped in to be with her mother. Bonnie gasped when she saw what had happened for herself. Shards of broken pottery were sticking out of her mother's abdomen. The workers had done their best to patch her up without making it worse, but she was still losing blood.

"Mom…?" Bonnie said with a trembling voice as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I-It's all right, Bonnie." Her mother tried to reassure her with a weak smile.

"No, it's not…" Bonnie sobbed. "Dad…"

"Shh… It's all right." Her mother said, pulling Bonnie close so that she was laying next to her with her head on her shoulder. "Momma's here. Daddy wouldn't want us to cry…"

"Is that everyone?" The driver asked Tarik.

"That's everyone." Tarik answered. "Now get them out of here. And don't forget to send help for the rest of us!"

It was an excruciating ride into the city for Bonnie's mother. Every little bump and turn caused her agony, and her white bandages were soon dyed completely red.

"Listen to me, Bonnie…" Her mother said in a weak voice. "The greatest tragedy in life is not death."

"Mom, don't talk…!" Bonnie said. She wanted her to preserve her strength.

"It's what we let die inside of us while we're still alive." Her mother continued. She knew she was dying. She just wanted to talk while she still had the strength. She has some things she needed to tell her daughter before she left. "In life, you're going to be lied to, left out, talked about, and used. You have to decide who's worth your tears and who isn't." She said as Bonnie clung to her. "… But don't let the world make you hard. Don't let the pain make you hate. Don't let fear control you. And don't let bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even tough the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place…" Her eyes closed, and Bonnie's mother breathed for the last time just as the city came into view. Hot tears streamed down Bonnie's face as the cold rain began to pour down in a torrent, pelting against her back, as it drowned out the sound of her cries of anguish.

As the sun dimmed over the great Anatolian region of eastern Turkey on May 22, 1971, a destructive earthquake struck near the quiet city of Bingöl. It was about one second before 6:44 p.m. (local time) when the magnitude 6.9 tremor broke the quiet of the evening, leaving that city and much of the surrounding area in rubble. Some 15,000 of its population were now homeless, a thousand or more were dead, and 90% of its structures lay destroyed, an all too frequent occurrence in Turkey's high Anatolian Plateau. Rescue efforts were hampered by heavy rain. Survivors told harrowing accounts of entire families still covered by ruins. Days later, Bingöl troops and volunteers continued to search through the broken shells of homes for victims. Despite their losses, the people working the dig site for Bonnie's parents had been lucky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously:**

_As the sun dimmed over the great Anatolian region of eastern Turkey on May 22, 1971, a destructive earthquake struck near the quiet city of Bingöl. It was about one second before 6:44 p.m. (local time) when the magnitude 6.9 tremor broke the quiet of the evening, leaving that city and much of the surrounding area in rubble. Some 15,000 of its population were now homeless, a thousand or more were dead, and 90% of its structures lay destroyed, an all too frequent occurrence in Turkey's high Anatolian Plateau. Rescue efforts were hampered by heavy rain. Survivors told harrowing accounts of entire families still covered by ruins. Days later, Bingöl troops and volunteers continued to search through the broken shells of homes for victims. Despite their losses, the people working the dig site for Bonnie's parents had been lucky._

* * *

**Chapter 2: An Exciting Discovery!  
**

* * *

**Five years later…  
Cairo, Egypt**

The heels of Bonnie's shoes clicked as she walked the halls of Ain Shams University. She was on her way to her next class, when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Bonnie!"

She stopped and turned to see her second oldest cousin running over to meet her, looking incredibly excited.

"What is it, Rody?" She asked curiously. "Did you find something?" Lately he had been spending most of his time supervising an excavation her uncle was funding in the Valley of Kings.

"Yes! We've just discovered a king's tomb!" He said.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Bonnie said, lighting up. She may have decided to study medicine, but she still had a lasting love for anything to do with archaeology and anthropology, just like her late parents.

"I know! I was so excited that I rushed back to the city to tell you and Carol… but as soon as I got here, I remembered her class was supposed to be on a field trip today." Rody finished a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Bonnie smiled wryly. He had managed to cover quite a distance before coming to that realization…

"Don't worry. Carol told me all about it." She said reassuringly. "I know where they are."

"Great, let's go!" Rody said with a smile, relieved. He could always count on Bonnie to know where Carol was. Those two were thick as thieves.

–∞–

One car ride (that went a lot faster than it probably should have) later, Rody and Bonnie arrived at the Temple of Amun at Karnak, several miles outside of the modern city of Luxor.

"Ah, there she is!" Bonnie said when she spotted her younger cousin, easily picking her out amongst the crowd on top of the high wall above them, thanks to her blonde hair shining in the sun.

"Carol!" They both shouted up at her to get her attention.

"Ah! Rody! Why are you in such a hurry? And Bonnie! What are you doing here? Don't you still have classes?" Carol exclaimed, surprised to see them both there.

"Nevermind that!" Bonnie said, grinning. It was only World Lit. She could make that up easily. "We've got some exciting news!"

"That's right, Carol!" Rody said. "We've come here to find you! Come with us to the Valley of Kings! We have some good news! We have just discovered a king's tomb!"

"Really_!_?" Carol asked excitedly. "The tomb of a king refers to… Could it really be one of Ancient Egypt's…_!_?"

"Yes! The tomb belongs to a member of the royal family!" Bonnie said as she and Rody smiled brightly at her enthusiastic reaction. Carol really loved archaeology!

"We think it's a Pharaoh!" Rody added. "Professor Brown, please come too!" He said, deciding to invite her teacher along for the ride. "The excavation at the Valley of the Kings, which my father is supporting, has discovered a new tomb! It looks like it hasn't been touched in 3,000 years!"

"W-What_!_? A tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh? Rody!" Professor Brown exclaimed in surprise, beside himself with joy. "I will come with you!"

"Uwaah~! Quick, brother, Bonnie! Hurry!" Carol urged them as they all ran for Rody's car.

"We'll come too!" Jimmy, Professor Brown's grandson said as he and the rest of the class followed. There's no way they were missing out on this!

"By the way, what's it called, Rody?" Bonnie asked as he drove her, Carol, Professor Brown, and Jimmy over to the site in his car, while the others followed in the bus they had rented for the field trip.

"The tomb? It's still under investigation." He replied.

"Ah! This is so exciting! I never thought I would be able to see and touch a real-live mummy!" Carol said dreamily. Up until now, she had only seen them in museums! 'It's so great! How dramatic it is!' Carol thought excitedly. 'The opportunity to see the place where a pharaoh has rested for the past 3,000 years… It's good to come study in Egypt for someone who is passionate in Archaeology like me!'

Bonnie smiled at the happy expression on her cousin's face. Her younger cousin was totally psyched. It reminded her of the same look her father would get while excavating. He would have loved this if he was still with them, her mother too…

The peak of Al-Qurn soon came into view. In the shadow of the mountain lay the once prohibited valleys, a barren area of dry limestone, now known as the Valley of the Kings.

"From the 18th Dynasty, in order to prevent tomb robbing, all the tombs of the pharaoh kings were secretly buried here. Until this century, although about seventy of these tombs have been discovered, most of them were ravaged by tomb raiders. Only the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen was completely preserved." Carol said as they made their way from the vehicles to the newly discovered tomb.

"No mistakes! That's my student!" Professor Brown said proudly.

"It's so crowded!" Carol remarked when they drew closer and saw that a large, noisy crowd had already gathered.

"Yeah." Jimmy agreed. "It was peaceful in the valley before."

"That was before a new tomb was discovered. Now everybody wants a piece of the action." Bonnie said knowingly. "I bet most of those cats are reporters." The excavation team seemed to be holding them off for now, but she wondered how long that would last.

"We have just opened the entrance! The air is very fresh inside!" One of them informed Rody. "For your safety, please take a candle with you before entering the cave."

"It's cool. I've got my own light." Bonnie said, pulling a flashlight out of her purse, a cross-body leather satchel with floral tooling. She liked to be prepared.

"Come on!" Professor Brown said excitedly, leading the charge over to the tomb.

"Please be careful, Professor Brown!" Rody said earnestly.

"I understand~! I understand~!" The professor sang lightly, slowing his roll a little as they reached the dark entrance. "Am I the first to enter? Oh, I am so grateful for that!"

"Ah, the next person to enter should be me!" Carol said excitedly.

"No, Carol, it should be me!" Jimmy said.

"Now, kids…" Bonnie said, even though she was only a year older than Carol and two years younger than Jimmy. "How about we settle this like adults, with a round of rock-paper-scissors?" Jimmy sweat-dropped.

"And you call us 'kids'?" He asked, chagrined.

"Out of the three of us, who has a) finished high school early, and is b) already working on their college degree?" Bonnie retorted calmly with a smile. Jimmy sweat-dropped again.

"Haha, nice try Jimmy, but you can't beat Bonnie!" Carol laughed. They may be attending a school called Cairo University, but it was really just an international academy for grades K–12.

"Grandpa! Be careful!" Jimmy called out, quickly changing the subject.

"Idiot! Even if I am old, my reflexes won't lose to you youngsters!" Professor Brown retorted hotly.

"It's all dark inside!" One of the other students exclaimed as they tried to stand on their toes to see into the open tomb ahead of the others.

"Probably because this fissure in the wall was completely sealed until today."

"Poor kings…" Some of the locals said as they watched from another ridge in the valley, a safe distance away. "The peaceful slumber they have endured for 3,000 years is going to be disturbed by those foreigners… The curse from the royal family, one day for sure, will befall all of them…"

_The curse of the royal family will befall you…_

"Huh?" Carol said as she and Bonnie both perked up when they thought they heard a strange voice. "Did you just say something?" She asked.

"No. Did you hear that, too?" Bonnie asked, furrowing her brow slightly.

"I didn't hear or say anything." Jimmy said, wondering what they were going on about.

"Hey, it's my turn now!" Carol huffed when he stepped ahead to enter the tomb before her.

"No! Follow me!" Jimmy told her. He wanted to make sure it was safe for her.

"No, I don't want to!" Carol protested. "You're always doing that, Jimmy!"

'And you're always doing that…' Bonnie thought with a sigh. Why didn't these two just kiss and get it over with?

"!" Carol said when Jimmy stopped abruptly.

"Give me your hand." Jimmy said, holding his out to her. They could enter together. "The floor is a bit slippery, so watch your step!"

"Ok!" Carol said.

Bonnie smiled as she followed behind them. Now that was much better.

"Ah!" Bonnie yelped, jumping slightly when a drop of icy water landed in the crook of her neck.

"Bonnie, are you okay?" Rody asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied a bit sheepishly. "It was just some water dripping down from the ceiling. It was so cold, it made me jump!" She should have expected it, though. This wasn't her first cave/underground crypt.

"Haha, not many things in this world can do that!" Carol remarked humorously.

"Grandpa! Where do the stairs lead to?" Jimmy asked.

"Eh… I don't know. It's really deep!" Professor brown said as he shined his light ahead, trying to see the end.

"The construction is different from all the tombs which were discovered before." A member of the excavation team, who was also an archaeologist, noted as they proceeded further down into the dark tunnel.

"I think we're about 50ft underground now…" Bonnie said after they had been walking for a while. She ran a hand along the wall, feeling it's texture. "The wall doesn't feel like it's been carved, even though stairs were put in." 'Could this tunnel be a natural formation?' She wondered.

"It's a rare hallway… Jimmy…!" Carol said, excited. "I bet this was a natural tunnel before they made it into an entrance!"

"Ah! How strange!" The historian from the excavation team remarked. "There's no record of this hallway at my museum."

"But the air is fresh!" Another team member said. "Ah, the candlelight is swaying… which means the air is coming from below! There must be a cave up ahead" He said, observing the flickering flame's movement on his candle.

"Now we're 100ft underground!" Bonnie said, amazed. Just how deep did this thing go? 'This tomb… since it was closed in ancient times, no one has made this journey for 3,000 years. The people who buried the kings left this place sealed with a blessing from their hearts… and now, all these centuries later, we're finally walking along this path again…' It was an exciting and thrilling prospect, but she sort of felt like an intruder. "I've always wondered this since I was a little, but… even if it's just part of our investigation for historical research, to dig out an ancient tomb like this… aren't we being disrespectful towards the dead?" She asked. It didn't used to bother her so much, but ever since she had to bury her own parents… How would she feel if someone disturbed their grave?

"Ah, That's right. Even if this is part of archaeology…" Carol said uneasily, looking as though she had been thinking something along the same lines. "What do you think, big brother?" She asked Rody.

No, it's a preemptive strike to prevent artifacts from falling into the hands of tomb raiders." Rody said good-naturedly, without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"That was a fast answer!" Carol remarked.

"Hmm, well… there is that." Bonnie said thoughtfully with a shrug. It's not like they were going to keep whatever they found for themselves. It was all going to a museum so it could be preserved and put on display for the rest of the world and future generations to see as part of mankind's ancient heritage.

"Ah! It's a dead end!" Jimmy exclaimed when they hit a wall.

"Ehh? A dead end?" Carol asked in disbelief.

"Did we miss a turn?" Bonnie asked.

"All four sides are walls!" Rody shouted suddenly when he turned around and saw another wall.

"It's true! There's no more road!" Carol exclaimed as she and Bonnie whipped their heads around to check.

"Strange… When did that happen?" Bonnie wondered aloud.

"Check if it's hollow behind the walls! Maybe there's a cave on the other side!" Professor Brown said as they all started fumbling around, knocking on walls and pacing the room, trying to find a way out. "No exit at all!" Professor Brown exclaimed when they found nothing after a minute of searching, beginning to panic.

"Where's the king's tomb_!_?" Someone yelled.

"There's no mistake! There was a royal chop in front of the entrance!" The Historian said anxiously.

"What is going on? It's totally empty!" Carol said, pacing.

"Everyone stay calm." Bonnie said. "We may have wondered into a trap meant for tomb raiders, but people know we went into the tomb, so if we don't come back out, someone is bound to send a search party in after us."

"Ah, you're right, Bonnie." Rody said, feeling a little relieved after being reminded of that. "I'm sure everything will be fine as long as we—"

_CLACK._

"… What was that?" Bonnie asked warily. It almost sounded like some kind of switch had been flipped.

_GRINNND._

"Ah!" Someone cried out when the floor began to move.

"Okay, that's never a good sign!" Bonnie said.

"Waa! The floor!" Carol exclaimed when it started to tilt.

_"Waaa!"_ Everyone screamed as the floor tipped out from under them, and they slid down some kind of ramp into the dark.

"Professor! The light has gone out!"

"Carol!"

"Arrh_!_! Brother! Bonnie! Jimmy_!_!"

"Where's the flashlight_!_?"

"No! I hate pitch black! It's so scary! Waa! Waa!" Carol cried hysterically, clinging to whoever was closest when they landed.

"Carol! Carol! Let me go!" Jimmy said, startled when she latched onto him, covering his face with her hands.

"Jimmy!" Carol cried.

"What are you talking about in that weird voice?" Rody asked his little sister, rubbing his head.

"Be–Because we are in a darkness that has lasted for 3,000 years! It's so terrifying! I'm so afraid_!_!"

"I found the flashlight!" Bonnie announced victoriously after feeling around for it in the dark. "Let there be… light!" She said, turning it on. Thankfully, it still worked, and the bright beam cut through the darkness, illuminating what was in front of them as the dust settled.

"Ah! Professor, is that…?"

"Yes…" Professor Brown said slowly as they all stared at the new room they now found themselves in, stunned. The walls had been smoothed with plaster and richly decorated with ancient hieroglyphs and murals pertaining to instructions on how to enter the Egyptian afterlife. They were also surrounded by the glitter of gold from statues, ornate furniture, chests, which had been arranged neatly around the crowned jewel of the room—the golden sarcophagus inlaid with shimmering, precious gems.

"… Far out…" Bonnie breathed in amazement. This room was one of the most beautiful tombs she had ever seen. It took her breath away. Even Carol was stunned into silence for a moment by the majesty of the display before them.

"Ahh! There it is!" Carol said excitedly as soon as she recovered, pointing at the sarcophagus. "The golden coffin that keeps the mummy of the king after his death!"

"Wow! We have discovered it!" Professor Brown exclaimed. "This is it! The tomb of the pharaoh king!"

"That's right! The floor must have been locked for the prevention of tomb raiders!" The Historian added. "Now, after 3,000 years, it has finally unlocked! It fell because of our combined weight!

"Congratulations on your discovery of the tomb!" Professor Brown said. "If it was not for the support from Rody's father, there wouldn't have been any chance of success!"

"Please send the news to my father!" Rody told one of the workers. "He is in America at the moment!"

'So, this person was the pharaoh…' Bonnie thought as she slipped past the adults with Carol and Jimmy to get a closer look at the sarcophagus. "He looks so young…" She commented, referring to the golden mask-like face on the coffin. "Like a teenager."

"I've heard that these masks on the tomb were made according the person's appearance from when they were still alive!" Carol said softly as they gazed down upon the stylized face.

"You've become quite serious all of a sudden, Carol…" Jimmy remarked with an affectionate smile. She really did love archaeology…

At that time, nobody noticed the curse that was written on the walls in Ancient Egyptian; the curse that had been placed on the tomb over 3,000 years ago dictating that the shadow of death would descend upon whomever dared to disturb the rest of the king with swift wings…


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously:**

_At that time, nobody noticed the curse that was written on the walls in Ancient Egyptian; the curse that had been placed on the tomb over 3,000 years ago dictating that the shadow of death would descend upon whomever dared to disturb the rest of the king with swift wings…_

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Tablet  
**

* * *

Moreover, starting from that night, the curse slowly began to lift its sigh. After the sarcophagus was removed from the tomb, the Valley of Kings was covered by a frightening silence. Unfortunately, this went unnoticed by those who had returned to the bustling city of modern Cairo, where everyone was abuzz with news of the recent discovery…

"Oh! There is also a beautiful Egyptian crown!" Professor Brown exclaimed as they were unpacking some of the artifacts that had been removed from the tomb and brought to Carol's school to be studied and examined. "Be careful not to damage it!"

"Professor, the thing hanging on the pharaoh's chest must be a protective charm! These are all beautiful jewels!" One of the forensic experts said excitedly.

"Do we know the name of this pharaoh yet, Professor Brown?" Bonnie asked curiously. They had given her a special pass to allow her to be there even though she wasn't a member of staff or a student since she was related to the Lidos.

"Several of the words are hard to make out, so we aren't sure yet." He replied.

"However, we know that he was about eighteen years old when he died." The forensic expert said.

"Looks like it." Professor Brown agreed.

"Eighteen years old!" Carol gasped, taken aback. "Then he was only two years older than me! Waa… he died so young!"

"Unfortunately, that's something that happened a lot back then." Bonnie said. In the ancient world, people often died early from disease or injuries that could easily be cured today. Most conditions were also exacerbated by lack of a sufficiently varied diet. Infection was a major killer. Most people didn't live past fifty.

"Yes." Professor Brown agreed. "There were always tragic deaths in the empire, such as being poisoned or murdered… Tomorrow, after taking off the mask, and performing some x-rays, we should know more details."

'Eh, so he was killed… at such a young age…' Carol thought sadly. How tragic…

"Oh, is that a bundle of flowers?" Bonnie asked, leaning over the open sarcophagus to get a better look, when she notice something extra tucked in next to the pharaoh's masked head. It's not that she was unsympathetic, it's just that she was used to being surrounded by death and hearing about things like this from a young age. It was all just a part of the circle of life as far as Bonnie was concerned.

"It is!" Carol said excitedly, immediately perking up. "Ah, Professor! There is a bundle of flowers inside!"

"Hehe! This is unusual!" The Professor said with a smile.

"Is it?" Bonnie asked, surprised. Ancient Egypt wasn't exactly her specialty, but she could have sworn she remembered hearing that they had also found the petals of blue water lilies in King Tut's innermost coffin… wasn't it because they were supposed to be a symbol of the sun god Ra and resurrection, since they opened and closed each day with the rising and setting of the sun?

"It must have been his lover who put the flowers in there to show her love toward the king as a farewell!" Carol said as she carefully removed the bouquet. "Jimmy, even though the color has faded, and the flowers have withered… The feelings of love remain even after a thousand years…" She said sweetly.

'Well, I guess it's okay if I let her think that a little while longer…' Bonnie thought with a fond smile. Carol was clearly enjoying herself imagining that little scenario… Her youngest cousin was such a romantic.

'Right now, Carol is thinking about the dead king…' Jimmy thought as he watched her cradle the dried flowers tenderly. "I won't lose to him." He said, moving in to plant a kiss on her check. Unfortunately for him, Carol ducked.

"You're joking again!" She said.

"I'm serious!" He insisted earnestly.

"Jimmy can't be king!" Carol said with a laugh.

"If we were in ancient times, I could also be a king…!" Jimmy retorted, though they all knew that was incredibly unlikely.

'Poor Jimmy…' Bonnie thought with a wry smile. Carol was a smart girl, but she seemed to be really slow when it came to picking up the intentions of most of the boys around her. It was no wonder her brothers were so over protective.

"Professor!" One of the other students called out from the next room. "The scripts on this clay tablet have faded! What are they, professor?"

"Where?" Professor Brown asked as he and the three teens tore themselves away from the mummy's side for a moment to see what the others were looking at. "Ah, these hieratic scripts are the words of a curse! They are used to protect the dead…"

"Well, those are always fun…" Bonnie remarked sarcastically.

"Let me see…" Carol said, taking the clay tablet so she could examine it for herself.

"Ah!" The forensic expert suddenly gasped in alarm when he turned to go back into the room with the mummy and saw that some shady characters had snuck in. As soon as they were discovered, the thieves booked it, grabbing the amulet off of the pharaoh's chest as they went. "The king's jewels and crown have been stolen_!_!" The forensics expert yelled.

"Eh_!_?" Bonnie and the others cried in alarm, startled, when he came running back into the room in a panic and slammed into Carol by mistake.

WHAM!

"Ah!" Carol exclaimed when the clay tablet let her hands and sailed up into the air. "The clay board_!_!"

_CRASH!_

The clay tablet hit the floor and shattered into numerous pieces. They all stared at it for a moment in shock. Not only had some important jewels just been stolen, but now they had broken one of the remaining artifacts…

"… Bummer." Bonnie said, sweat-dropping.

"Oh, no!" Carol cried, feeling tremendously guilty. "What are we going to do_!_? The clay board is broken_!_!"

"Don't cry, Carol!" Jimmy said earnestly. "It's not your fault! We all know it was just an accident!"

"Yeah, and maybe we can put it back together." Bonnie said. "For now, let's start by carefully collecting all the broken pieces, okay?"

"O-Okay…" Carol sniffed.

–∞–

Later that night, Bonnie lay awake in bed unable to sleep. So much had happened that day… After they had collected as many of the broken tablet's pieces as they could find, Rody had apparently decided it was past the girl's bed time, because he made them go home to try and get some rest. Carol had been so upset about breaking the tablet, they had decided to let her take it home with her to work on… But Nanny Marie wasn't having any of that. She promptly ushered the girls their pre-sleeping rituals and made them go to bed. Well, since she couldn't sleep anyway, and she figured the nanny would be asleep by now, Bonnie decided to get out of bed and go take another look at that tablet. It would be a nice surprise for Carol if she woke up and found it already (at least partially) fixed. However, upon sneaking into Carol's room to get the table's fragments, she discovered that she had already been beaten to the punch. Carol was already sitting at her desk, trying to piece it back together by lamplight.

"This piece doesn't belong here either…" Carol said, starting to fret. She was wrong again!

"Carol." Bonnie said softly, making her younger cousin nearly jump out of her skin in surprise.

"D-Don't do that!" Carol whisper-yelled indignantly. "You know I hate it when you do that creepy silent-stalking-through-the-shadows thing_!_!" Was Bonnie trying to give her a heart attack_!_?

"S-Sorry…" Bonnie replied a bit sheepishly. She hadn't meant to scare her like that. "I just thought I'd see if I could maybe help with that?"

"Eh? But you can't read Ancient Egyptian." Carol reminded her.

"No, but I am good at puzzles." Bonnie said confidently. She even used to help her parents with this sort of thing on occasion. "So I thought maybe I could help you match the shapes of the pieces that fit together." Kind of like an ancient jigsaw puzzle. "Then you can try reading it to check if it makes any sense."

"That's a great idea!" Carol said excitedly, perking up a little. Bonnie smiled and moved the hope chest at the foot of Carol's bed over to the desk to sit on while they worked.

—∞—

**The next morning…**

"Carol!" Rody called loudly as he entered the dark room, crossing swiftly to open up the curtains and let some sunlight in. "Get up! It's seven o'clock already!"

"What? I'm awake!" Bonnie gasped, snapping up into a sitting position so fast, that she nearly fell over. She must have nodded off while working. She noticed Carol was holding her head while leaning against the desk. Poor thing looked like she hadn't slept a wink.

"Oh, Bonnie! You're in here too?" Rody said, surprised. "Why are you both siting at the desk?"

"We were trying to put the pieces back together." Carol said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. Bonnie glanced at the desk and saw why. Aside from the pieces that she had helped her cousin arrange together, which formed the corners, top, sides, and bottom of the tablet, Carol hadn't been able to progress any further on her own once Bonnie fell asleep.

"Eh… Didn't you sleep last night?" Rody asked, concerned when he noticed the dark circles under his little sister's eyes.

"It's because I broke this!" Carol cried. "Considering it's an ancient relic, it means everything to me!"

"Don't worry, Carol!" Bonnie said, feeling guilty for falling asleep on her own, as she put an arm around Carol to comfort her. "We'll fix it. Just look how much we've already done. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know!"

"Yes, cheer up Carol!" Rody said. "Today, we're going to take off the cloth covering the king's mummy to investigate the cause of his death. You'll get to learn more about him. Isn't that exciting?"

Before Carol had a chance to answer, the telephone rang.

RRRING…!

"Hello?" Rody said, answering it. "Carol! You've got a phone call from America! It's Dad!" He told her excitedly.

'Phew! Saved by the phone…' Bonnie thought. That should cheer her up!They hadn't heard from her uncle in a while.

"Hello, Dad!" Carol said as she accepted the phone from her brother, still a little teary-eyed.

"How are you, my darling?" Her dad asked. She could hear the smile in his voice. "Since I have finished my work for the company, I will come to Egypt immediately! Your brother, Ryan, is coming too!"

"Eh? Dad is coming, for real_!_?" Carol asked excitedly, lighting up. "Brother Ryan is coming as well! That's great!"

"That really is great!" Bonnie said brightly when she heard Carol's remarks.

"Yeah!" Carol agreed with a smile. "Oh, did you also want to talk to Dad, Bonnie?"

"Miss Carol! Miss Bonnie! It's 8:30 already!" Mary called up to them in warning. It was time for them both to get dressed and hit the road, or they would be late for their first classes!

"Coming!" Bonnie called back. "Give them both my love, Carol!" Bonnie said as she rushed back to her room to get dressed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously:**

_"Miss Carol! Miss Bonnie! It's 8:30 already!" Mary called up to them in warning. It was time for them both to get dressed and hit the road, or they would be late for their first classes!_

_"Coming!" Bonnie called back. "Give them both my love, Carol!" Bonnie said as she rushed back to her room to get dressed._

* * *

**Chapter 4: Isis  
**

* * *

"We're going now!" Carol said as she and Bonnie quickly hurried for the door as soon as they were dressed and ready for the day. They were both stylin'. Carol was wearing a pink skirt with a pattern of red stars and suspenders over a white quarter-length sleeved summer sweater-blouse, while Bonnie was sporting a blouse with a blue and green paisley pattern and some blue flared slacks with a green belt.

"Catch ya on the flipside, Nanny!" Bonnie added as they passed the older woman on their way out.

"Miss Carol and Miss Bonnie, at least drink some milk…!" Nanny Marie called after them.

"There's no need! You can drink them!" Carol told her.

"I'll grab something at the school's canteen in between classes!" Bonnie said.

"I'm so excited!" Carol said happily as they ran out the house together. "Dad and brother Ryan are coming here soon."

"I know, it feels like we haven't seen them in forever!" Bonnies said, grinning. She was definitely looking forward to it. "Hey, there's something up ahead." She said when she spotted a two figures under the shade of one of the trees on their property. It looked like a person in a cloak and a dog.

"Ah! Are you all right?" Carol asked the person as they slowed their roll and saw the person was trembling.

"I got lost and suddenly found myself in this place… I feel sick…" The person said weakly, holding their face in their hands. It sounded like a woman.

"It's all right. I'm a medical student." Bonnie said as she kneeled down beside the stranger. She reached out and gently took the young woman's hands in her own.

"!" Carol gasped in surprise when she saw her face. 'What a pretty woman!'

Bonnie was also surprised, but for a different reason.

"Your hands are freezing!" Bonnie said. The woman's hands felt icy to the touch compared to her own. She looked Egyptian, but her skin was very pale. She also seemed to short of breath, and she was obviously very fatigued since she had collapsed in their yard. "You have a lot of the symptoms for anemia." Bonnie informed her. "Let's get you out of the sun."

"Yes, you need to rest!" Carol agreed as they helped the beautiful young woman to her feet so they could help her into the house."Nanny Marie, this person needs help!"

"Could you please prepare some water and a bowl of those dried fruits I bought the other day?" Bonnie added. Prunes, raisins, and apricots were good sources of iron.

"I'm… Sorry…" The pretty woman said humbly, grateful for their assistance.

"Don't mention it." Bonnie said with a kind smile.

"That's right! Come in!" Carol said enthusiastically. "You're more than welcome! You'll be okay, Bonnie and Nanny Marie are going to take good care of you!"

"Thank you."

"As expected of Miss Carol and Miss Bonnie." Marie thought proudly as they helped the sickly woman inside, with her big black dog following close behind.

While Bonnie got the woman and her dog settled in the sitting room, Carol slipped into the kitchen with the nanny to prepare the things Bonnie had asked for.

"She's so pretty!" Carol gushed excitedly. "This is the first time I have seen a lady with such and elegant temperament! Her bracelet is made out of ancient gold!"

"But her dress looks like a night gown!" Nanny whispered, a little shocked when the young woman removed her cloak to reveal an outfit that was so diaphanous it was verging on being scandalous. "But I'm sure there's a reason for it." She added charitably.

Bonnie had also noticed these details. Both her jewelry and clothes appeared to be in the style of what the ancient Egyptian royalty used to wear. And they looked authentic at a glance. Was she some kind of private collector?

"I'm Bonnie Chance…" Bonnie said, deciding to start by introducing herself. "And this is my cousin, Carol, and Nanny Marie." She added as they joined them. "What's your name?"

"My name is Isis…" The young woman replied. "And this is my Anubis."

"He's beautiful." Bonnie said with a smile. The dog was every bit as elegant as his owner.

"Thank you." Isis said with a polite smile. "My little brother… I don't know where he is… I am trying my best to search for him…" She said, looking down.

"Oh! So you were searching for your brother?" Carol asked sympathetically.

"I see, and along the way you got lost…" Bonnie said. She must be really worried to have wondered in search of him to the point of getting lost herself.

"Isis! If you are worried, you can stay here temporarily, and I will help you find your brother!" Carol said decisively. If she were looking for Rody or Ryan, she would want all the help she could get!

"You can count me in, too." Bonnie told her. She didn't like the idea of family being separated from each other. "I think my clothes might fit you, since we're fairly close in height, but if not, I'm sure Auntie wouldn't mind if you borrowed some of hers."

"Yes! I bet Isis would look beautiful in one of my mother's dresses!" Carol said with a smile.

"Have you got something against my taste in clothes, Carol?" Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, no… Bonnie always looks good!" Carol replied with a somewhat nervous laugh. She just thought something a little more classically elegant would suit Isis better than Her cousin's cool and groovy bohemian style.

"Oh! Are you girls still here?" Rody asked, surprised, when he came out and saw his sister and younger cousin with their new friend. "And who is this?"

"This is Isis. Isis, this is Rody, Carol's older brother and my older cousin." Bonnie said, introducing them to each other. "Well, you look like you're starting to feel better." She remarked, noting that Isis wasn't trembling anymore, and some color had returned to her cheeks. "I'd better get going before I'm late for class. If you need anything, you can have Nanny contact me at the university." She said as she stood up, and politely excused herself. Bonnie left the room with style and grace, but the moment she was out of there, she took off like a shot in a race against time. The professor who taught her first class of the day happened to have a habit of locking the door as soon as he started the lecture, and he never let in anyone who arrived late!

'I hope she makes it…' Rody thought wryly with a knowing smile.

–∞–

Unfortunately, Bonnie did not make it in time for her first class, so she did end up being locked out… However, looking on the bright side, it was only world history, which she already knew most of anyway since she grew up hearing about it, and this gave her plenty of time to head to the canteen and eat a full breakfast before she had to be at her next class. So it wasn't like it was a total loss…

"So, I take it this is what you were doing when you skipped out on World Lit. yesterday?" One of Bonnie's school friends, Raz, asked, unfurling a newspaper with a headline about the discovery of the tomb in front of Bonnie's face, as soon as she entered her second class. "It is your uncle's company funding this, right? And it says the artifacts that were removed are being studied at Cairo University, where Carol goes. Are you sure you're not regretting your decision to come here to study medicine now? He asked teasingly with a knowing smirk.

"Oh, leave her alone!" Yasmine huffed, defending the younger girl. "You're just jealous because she aced the last test in Professor Crofton's class, unlike a certain _someone_…" She finished meaningfully with a Cheshire cat grin, causing him to flinch.

"We agreed to never speak of that again!" He hissed defensively, lowering his voice as he glanced around, as if anyone else cared.

"Then be nice! Bonnie might have the highest GPA, but she's still the baby of the class. I won't let you bully her!" Yasmine whisper-yelled.

"Like she neds your help to defend her!" Raz whisper-yelled back. Bonnie was _more _than capable of taking care of herself.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but why are we whispering?" Bonnie asked in a low voice, mimicking their serious expressions. Her two older friends sweat-dropped when they realized how suspicious they must look, and that the majority of the rest of the class had actually begun to stare.

"Ahem! Anyway, what was it like, seeing it in person?" Raz asked a bit sheepishly, clearing his throat.

"The tomb? It was _amazing_." Bonnie said honestly with a brilliant smile. "I can't even begin to describe it!"

"Hey, do you think there's any chance of us being able to see it, too?" Yasmine asked.

"Well, I don't know..." Bonnie said. "I don't think they're letting anyone other than the workers into the tomb at the moment, but think I might be able to convince them to let you see the artifacts that are being studied at the university. Will that do?"

"I'll take what I can get." Yasmine replied with a gleam in her eye.

"Right on." Bonnie said with a laugh. Yasmine was such an opportunist. "In that case, how about we head over there together after our last class? I was planning on visiting Carol to get the skinny anyway."

"Oh? First class of the day hasn't even started yet, and you're already showing off, Chance?" A familiar voice asked rather obnoxiously, harshing their mellow. It was Mandy Whittaker. You know that 'popular' girl who thinks she's prettier than everyone else and has a disproportionate sense of entitlement that makes her think it's okay to pick on anyone she doesn't like because they're smarter than her and/or considers them competition? Yeah, that was Mandy all over.

"… So anyway, what did I miss yesterday in World Lit.?" Bonnie asked her friends, deciding to just ignore the girl who seemed to think it was her job to make college feel as much like high school as possible.

"_Romeo and Juliet_." Raz replied without missing a beat.

"Eh? Shouldn't that be in English Lit.?" Bonnie asked, furrowing her brow slightly. Was there really a need to cover that again? She understood why Shakespeare was great, and she did like some of his plays, but in her opinion, _Romeo and Juliet_ was just another example of why communication within a relationship was so crucial.

"It should." Yasmine agreed with a sigh. "But we also started Dante's _Inferno_, so it wasn't a complete waste of time."

"Um, I don't want to ruin it for you… but as a Muslim, I think you should prepare yourself. Muhammad makes an appearance, and it isn't pretty." Bonnie told her with a sympathetic smile, giving her a friendly warning so she wouldn't be completely shocked. Raz sweat-dropped.

Did that mean she had already read it? Of course she had, this was Bonnie they were talking about. From Rumi and Shakespeare to the latest science-fiction paperback—If was in print, Bonnie had read it.

"What? No way!" Yasmine exclaimed. Muhammad in Hell_!_? That was so wrong! "What do—"

_"Hey!_!" Mandy shouted indignantly with a vein throbbing on her forehead. "You can't just ignore me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Bonnie said calmly, finally looking at her. "Does my complete lack of interest in your existence conflict with your delusions of self-importance?" She inquired in a polite tone of voice, fluttering her long eyelashes innocently at the seething nineteen-year-old.

"Pfft!" An amused snort escaped Raz, while Yasmine bit her lip, struggling to keep a straight face, as she shook with silent laughter.

_"You little—!_?" Mandy started to yell furiously, when she was cut off by the boom of a much more commanding voice.

"Miss Whittaker! This is a classroom, not a Third World market bazaar!" Dr. Seidel said sternly as he entered the room, heading to the front of the class to begin his lecture. "Now either keep your voice down and take a seat, or remove yourself from my class. As for the rest of you, open your books to page 315. We're going to start with aerobic respiration and glycolysis today." Mandy just stood there for a moment, staring at him in disbelief.

"Y-You'll hear from my father about this!" She huffed, blushing furiously out of embarrassment, as she rushed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Yes, yes. I'm very scared." Dr. Seidel muttered sarcastically. "I survived the holocaust. You think I'm scared of some schmuck in an over-priced suit?"

"And this is why biology is my favorite class this semester." Raz commented quietly with a smirk as they opened their textbooks and got ready to take notes. Bonnie smiled and shook her head as she picked up her pen.

Yeah, she liked the old man too. He had chutzpah.

–∞–

Meanwhile, Carol and Rody had been alerted to a serious problem…

"Professor Brown!" Carol yelled anxiously as she and her brother ran into the research lab at her school, where the artifacts from the tomb were being studied. "I heard that the corpse of the pharaoh king was stolen!"

"Is it true, Professor_!_?" Rody asked urgently.

"I'm very sorry!" The professor apologized, still pale with shock. "We didn't realize the mummy had been stolen until the coffin was opened again this morning!"

"It's empty_!_? Where did it go?" Carol asked as she rushed over to examine the empty coffin for herself. "Ah… the bundle of flowers has been trampled!" She cried. They had been smashed and scattered all over the floor. How cruel… "This… This is going too far!"

Isis, who had followed the two siblings there, turned pale when she saw the empty coffin. As the two girls stared sadly at the scene of the crime, the police who had answered the call for the reported theft were springing into action.

"Cordon off Cairo!" One of officers ordered. "What? There hasn't been any contact from the security in the Valley of the Kings_!_?"

"I need to go to the Valley of Kings, maybe the offender is there." Carol said. She didn't want to just stand around fretting while the thieves were getting away!

"I'll go with you, Carol!" Jimmy said, concerned for her safety.

"Come on!" Carol told him, quickly following the policemen out the door. "We have to find the one who stole the corpse!"


	5. Chapter 5

"I need to go to the Valley of Kings, maybe the offender is there." Carol said. She didn't want to just stand around fretting while the thieves were getting away!

"I'll go with you, Carol!" Jimmy said, concerned for her safety.

"Come on!" Carol told him, quickly following the policemen out the door. "We have to find the one who stole the corpse!"

* * *

**Chapter 5: Shadow of Death  
**

* * *

**Ain Shams University**

"Hello?" Bonnie said as she picked up the phone after being paged to come to the student union because she had a call. Fortunately, it was only her lunch break right now. She was a bit surprised they had actually needed her. Isis had seemed so much better when she left…

"Bonnie!" Rody said urgently. "Thank goodness! I know you're not done with your classes yet, but I'm worried about Carol! She slipped out while I wasn't looking, and I think she went to the Valley of the Kings with some of her friends!"

"… Is that really something panic over?" Bonnie asked, not really seeing the problem. It's not like she was alone, and Carol running off was nothing new.

"The pharaoh's mummy was stolen, and I think she went after the criminal!" He exclaimed. Bonnie blinked and hung her head slightly as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, I see… I guess I'd better go bring her back, then." She said, sweat-dropping. She could see why he was so upset now. Caro might get herself into some real trouble this time if she wasn't careful.

"Yes, please do!" He said, sounding extremely relieved. "I'd go myself, but the police still need me here for their investigation at the lab."

"It's all right, I understand. I'll get a ride from one of my friends." Bonnie said, hanging up with a sigh. She headed back to the cafeteria to get her stuff.

"What? You're leaving?" Yasmin asked, furrowing her brow slightly. "But you just got here!"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry, but duty calls." Bonnie said with a wry smile as she grabbed her bag.

"I guess we can make an extra copy of notes for you…" Raz said, leaning back in his chair, a bit disappointed. It wasn't as fun without Bonnie around.

"Yeah, just do what you gotta, babe." Jerry said charitably, even though he had been looking forward to the one class they shared together, basic drawing.

"Well, about that... I was hoping you might be willing to do me a favor… Could you give me a ride the Valley of Kings?" Bonnie asked hopefully.

"you're asking me to skip class with you?" Jerry asked, raising an eyebrow. He grinned. "Right on!" He agreed. Whatever the reason, he never missed an opportunity to stick it to the man. This was why he liked Bonnie. She wasn't afraid of a little civil disobedience. She was really cool and alute for a younger chick (not to mention foxy).

"Thanks!" She said, giving her Art Major boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "See you later." Bonnie told her friends with a smile and a wave, as they dashed off to find her wayward cousin.

–∞–

**The Valley of Kings**…

"Sir! There is no one here!" One of the policemen shouted.

"Where are the security guards?" Another asked.

"Keep searching!" The ranking officer ordered.

"Ah! Maybe they're inside the tomb…?" Carol suggested as she and her friends watched.

"Yeah! It's possible!" Jimmy agreed. "Let's go!"

"I'm scared…" Maria said nervously as she and Harry followed them into the dark tomb.

"I'll go last then, you can walk in the middle." Harry said bravely to help her feel safer.

"Come on!" Jimmy said, urging them on.

"There's something smelly in here Carol!" Mari said as they continued their descent. There was a foul odor in the air that wasn't there the previous day.

"That's strange?" Carol remarked, frowning slightly. "The floor's a bit smooth!"

"Be careful! It's slippery!" Jimmy said.

"Something is under my foot! Ah!" Carol gasped when she tripped over something and fell.

"Carol—Wah!" Jimmy cried out as he and the others slipped and came tumbling down after her.

"Ah!"

"It Hurts!"

"It's going too far!" Harry said, rubbing his sore head.

"Wha! There's something under my hips!" Carol realized.

"Yeah!" Maria said, realizing the same. Carol reached out and felt around, trying to figure out what it was.

"Ah!" She screamed when she felt her fingers get caught in human hair. Jimmy immediately picked up the flashlight and shined it on her to see what was wrong.

_"A cor…corpse!_!_!_"They all screamed when they saw it. And not just one, but two! It was the two security guards! "Aaaaah_!_! Somebody got killed_!_!"

"Let's get out of here_!_!" Jimmy yelled.

"Wa! It's scary_!_!" Carol cried.

"Leave here quickly! It's a corpse_!_!" Jimmy yelled as they all ran.

"Aaah!" Maria screamed.

"It's a corpse_!_!" Harry cried.

"Ah! Waa!" Carol yelped when she slipped again. "Eeyaah!" She cried as she fell. "I hate it! It's slippery! Wait… Wait a minute!" She called up to the others. She could hear their voices getting farther away. They were too focused on running away! "Waa! Wa! Wait for me!" She cried, struggling to get back up the slipper stairs in her panic. "Wait! Wait for me, Jimmy! Maira! Harry! Wait for—Umph!" Carol slipped and fell again. Now that she wasn't yelling, she was suddenly aware of how quiet it was. The tomb was silent as a grave. 'Jimmy! M-Maria… Ahh… Everyone… is gone…' She realized, going pale with fright. 'It's so dark… This is the hallway that leads to that room… I've been left behind… all alone…'

–∞–

As Jerry and Bonnie pulled up at the dig site in his car, they heard screams.

"Whoa, what was that_!_?" Jerry as asked as Bonnie immediately jumped out of the car, and ran over to meet Jimmy and the others as they came running out of the tomb.

"What is it? What happened?" Bonnie asked them. Her eyes widened when she saw blood on their hands and realized Carol was missing. _"Where's Carol!_?" She demanded, grabbing Jimmy by the front of his shirt, giving him a shake to snap him out of it.

"Carol?" Jimmy asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. "But I'm holding her…" He trailed off when he realized it was Maria's hand he was holding, not Carol's. "Oh my God! We left her behind with the corpse_!_!"

"You what_!_?" Bonnie yelled incredulously.

"What corpse_!_?" Jerry asked nervously.

"The two security guards are dead!" Maria sobbed. "We got scared and ran! We thought she was right behind us!" Bonnie clenched her fists at her side. They needed to find Carol before she ended up like those guards!

"Hey!" She said, calling out to the busy police, who were looking in the wrong spot. "Come quickly!" She told them in a commanding tone, taking charge. "There's been a murder, and a girl is missing! These kids found two corpses in the tomb!"

"What_!_?" The ranking officer exclaimed. That had certainly gotten his attention. "You heard her! Everyone grab a flashlight! We're going into the tomb!"

Together, they all formed a search party and entered the dark tunnel. They found the corpses first. Some of the police stayed behind to remove them and examine the crime scene while Bonnie and the others pressed on.

"It's all my fault!" Jimmy said. "If only I had…"

"You did what anyone would have done in your situation, and you thought Carol was still with you." Bonnie said calmly as she focused on navigating down the slipper steps. "Now rather than crying over spilled milk, use that energy of yours to help me find her."

"Yeah… Yeah, you're right!" Jimmy said, pulling himself together. Carol still needed him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Previously:  
**

_"It's all my fault!" Jimmy said. "If only I had…"_

_"You did what anyone would have done in your situation, and you thought Carol was still with you." Bonnie said calmly as she focused on navigating down the slipper steps. "Now rather than crying over spilled milk, use that energy of yours to help me find her."_

_"Yeah… Yeah, you're right!" Jimmy said, pulling himself together. Carol still needed him._

* * *

**Chapter 6: Terror in the Dark  
**

* * *

"Where are you, Carol?" Bonnie called out as they continued searching for her missing cousin, descending deeper into the darkness. "Carol!"

"I'm calling you! Carol!" Jimmy yelled anxiously.

"Hey! Carol!" Jerry shouted.

"Ah!" Bonnie gasped when they reached the tomb, and the beam of her flashlight landed blond curls. "We found her!" She exclaimed, running over to check on her.

"Carol!" Jimmy cried, rushing after her.

"Sir!" One of the policemen shouted, dashing off to inform their supervisor.

"Hey, is she okay?" Jerry asked as he stood behind Bonnie and Jimmy, staring down at the trembling girl.

"She's shaking, and she feels cold." Bonnie said as examined Carol. "I think she's in shock."

"Shock_!_?" Jimmy asked, appalled. "Carol! Are you okay?" He asked urgently.

"Carol!" Bonnie said, giving her a gentle shake, trying to snap her out of it. What happened to her? Even if Carol was afraid of the dark down here, just being left alone shouldn't have done _this_ to her…!

"Ah…" Carol gasped softly as she blinked, starting to come out of it. She looked extremely dazed and confused. Her eyes widened slightly in recognition when they landed on the people closest to her. "Bonnie! Jimmy!"

"Carol—" Bonnie began gently, when Jimmy abruptly cut her off.

"Sorry, Carol!" He apologized earnestly, feeling even more guilty after seeing how pale and shaken she looked. "When we ran out after seeing the corpse… I thought I was holding your hand, but it was Maria's instead! You must have been frightened when you were left alone in the darkness!"

"But you're safe now." Bonnie said firmly, giving her cousin's hands a little squeeze to reassure her that this was real. "We're here, Carol."

'Ah… I'm safe!' Carol thought as Bonnie's words sank in. "I'm back to the modern world… I'm safe!" She said aloud as tears of relief began to stream down her face. "I'm safe!" She cried, latching onto her older cousin as if she were a lifeline. "Bonnie! Jimmy! Waaaa! I'm scared! I was really scared! I shouted so many times for everyone to wait for me!"

"Sorry! I'm really sorry, Carol!" Jimmy said anxiously, kicking himself for leaving her. "I didn't hear you calling while I was running at that time… for leaving you alone in fear, I'm so sorry…"

"I'm sorry!" Mari apologized too. "We were all frightened about that!"

"I ran in away in a hurry… I'm such an idiot!" Harry said remorsefully.

"Shh, it's okay, Carol." Bonnie said softly as she held her tightly, rubbing her back in a soothing, circular motion. "Whatever happened, you're all right now." Carol sobbed, taking comfort in her cousin's warm and secure embrace. Even though she was crying really hard, Bonnie was relieved, because she could feel Carol's heartbeat return to normal and noticed some of the color in her cheeks had started come back. 'Thank God!' She thought. If the body went too deep into shock, then it could result in organ failure, but fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case this time. Carol was recovering so quickly, there might not even be a need to take her to the hospital. "Come on." Bonnie said, helping Carol to her feet with from help from Jimmy. "Let's get out of here."

Together, they all left the tomb and climbed back up to the surface and out into the light.

"So… what happened, Carol? Are you up to talking about it yet?" Bonnie asked carefully once they were back under the sun, away from the dark that Carol had been so terrified in. She had managed to recover enough to stand on her own, but she seemed tired from the whole ordeal. "Before, you said something about being 'back'… Did you go somewhere?"

"Ah…" Carol said, sniffing. "Right, while I was alone in the darkness, I experienced something terrible and strange, let me tell you… I was in Ancient Egypt, 3000 years ago."

"Eh!" Jimmy and her friends gasped in surprise, taken aback.

'I think Bonnie's cousin might be tripping…' Jerry thought, sweat-dropping. "What makes you say that?" Bonnie asked, furrowing her brow slightly in concern.

"There was a young pharaoh! And Isis was a queen ruling beside him! They were wearing ancient headdresses and kohl eyeliner!" Carol explained anxiously. She pointed to a blood stain on her sweater's collar. "As you can see, this blood is from the stain of the sacrifice she made while I was there! I was about to be killed as well… It was really fortunate that you guys came when you did!" Unfortunately, it was obvious from the looks on all her friends' faces as the stared at her that they didn't believe her at all. Even Bonnie seemed to have some doubt. They all looked very worried about her.

"That doesn't make any sense coming from Carol!" Maria said. "Poor thing! You must have been scared out of your mind!"

"Maria!" Carol exclaimed incredulously. "I'm telling the truth!"

"It was probably a hallucination brought on by the darkness." Harry said logically. "If it was me, I would be frightened as well."

"I think the illusion was caused by fear." Jimmy said.

"Listen to me, you guys!" Carol said, starting to get frustrated.

"Relax, Carol. It's not like we're saying you're crazy or anything. It could've happened to anyone. You're not the first one to get carried away after being trapped alone in the dark. The mind can play really messed up tricks on itself." Bonnie said calmly.

"Yeah. You didn't take anything before going down there, did you?" Jerry asked, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Bonnie to shut him up. Carol was a good girl.

"It's the truth!" Carol insisted stubbornly. "My hands are stained with blood! Look! There's even a stain on my clothes from when the blood dripped on me!" She exclaimed, turning pale again. "It's so freaky! Definitely not a dream!"

'… Now that she mentions it… that bloodstain on her collar does look like dripped onto her from a high angle…' Bonnie thought, frowning slightly. And the corpses had been on the ground when they found them. None of the others who were with her at the time had any stains like that on them. So, why did Carol…? She shook her head. No way! She'd seen some pretty mysterious stuff before, but time travel? And Carol had only been alone down there for a few minutes.

"Hey, calm down, Carol! That blood stain was from the corpse we've been in contact with." Jimmy said. "See? I got it on my hands too!"

"There's some on my hands too! It's disgusting!" Maria said, totally grossed out.

"Mine, too!" Harry realized, looking like he was going to be sick.

"No, that's different—_!_?" Carol began, when someone placed their hands on her shoulders from behind, startling her.

"How is it? Carol?" Isis asked as she loomed over the younger girl.

"I-I-Isis!" Carol exclaimed, trembling with fear.

"Oh, she's beautiful!" Carol's friends said.

"When did you get here?" Bonnie asked, concerned by the frightened look on Carol's face upon seeing her again. Carol had mentioned something about a queen named Isis before… had she been talking about this one? How did Isis get there in the first place? Did she hitch a ride with the police?

"I've just arrived." Isis replied calmly. "Ah… your face looks so pale!" She remarked, looking worried about Carol.

'Her hands… aren't stained with blood…' Carol realized when she saw Isis's clean hands.

"Mr. Rody is really worried, let's go home." Isis said.

"Isis…" Carol said shakily.

"Yes! It's best to go home, Carol!" Jimmy said. "You look really pale! Right, Bonnie?"

"Yes, we should let Rody know you're all right." Bonnie agreed, though she didn't like the way Carol seemed so shaken by Isis's sudden appearance. Before Carol had been falling all over her, and now she looked like a cornered prey.

"Wow! Even her name 'Isis' is beautiful!" Maria whispered excitedly to Harry as they watched the beautiful stranger.

"It's my first time seeing such a pretty lady!" Harry agreed.

'I She's almost hotter than Bonnie…' Jerry thought appreciatively, checking Isis out. Actually, Isis's boobs were bigger, so…

"I'll go let the police know we're leaving." Bonnie said, snapping him out of it. "Jerry, can you and Jimmy help Carol to the car?"

"Sure, Babe." Jerry agreed readily enough, trying not to look or sound too guilty. "Come on, kids. Let's get you loaded into the van."

"It's just an illusion, don't take it seriously." Jimmy reassured Carol as they walked to Jerry's van, ignoring the commotion from the clamoring reporters that were being held back by the police while they secured the crime scene. "Get a good sleep and forget about it!"

"Jimmy…" Carol said, still a little disappointed that they didn't believe her. 'Was it really only an illusion, like Jimmy and Bonnie said…?' She wondered, feeling uneasy with Isis following them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Previously:**

_"I'll go let the police know we're leaving." Bonnie said, snapping him out of it. "Jerry, can you and Jimmy help Carol to the car?"_

_"Sure, Babe." Jerry agreed readily enough, trying not to look or sound too guilty. "Come on, kids. Let's get you loaded into the van."_

_"It's just an illusion, don't take it seriously." Jimmy reassured Carol as they walked to Jerry's van, ignoring the commotion from the clamoring reporters that were being held back by the police while they secured the crime scene. "Get a good sleep and forget about it!"_

_"Jimmy…" Carol said, still a little disappointed that they didn't believe her. 'Was it really only an illusion, like Jimmy and Bonnie said…?' She wondered, feeling uneasy with Isis following them._

* * *

**Chapter 7: A Warm Welcome  
**

* * *

"Good morning, Nanny Marie!" Bonnie said brightly as she took a seat at the breakfast table, ready to face the day in a flowing, butterfly-sleeved cream caftan, which had an orange, dark-red, and purple pattern, dark-red floppy wide-brimmed hat, and platform sandals. "Mmm, Waffles." She said, inhaling deeply with a smile of appreciation when Marie served her. "Are Carol and Isis still sleeping?" Rody was usually awake by now.

"Miss Carol is, but Miss Isis has already finished breakfast and gone out to admire the garden." Nanny Marie replied.

"Oh." Bonnie said, checking her watch. "She's a really early riser." She commented. After all, today was Saturday.

"Here's today's newspaper, Miss Bonnie." Nanny said, placing it on the table for her. Bonnie could see that it had already been unfolded and read once before, so Rody was definitely up and about somewhere.

"Thank you. Unfortunately, I think I already have an idea about what story might be on the front page…" Bonnie said a touch sardonically as she unfolded the paper to read it.

**_Valley of the Kings Excavation Site Homicide_**_  
The Pharaoh's mummy discovered by the Lido Oil Company was stolen during research analysis. Also, not far from the excavation site, two tomb security officers were found brutally murdered! There were no traces of the culprit everything remains a mystery…  
Could this be the curse of the centuries old Royal Family?_

"Yep." Bonnie deadpanned. Just as predicted, yesterday's events had become today's headline. Those reporters never missed a beat. She continued to read the rest of the paper while she ate her breakfast. Oil and gas prices had gone up again. "Well, I guess I'd better go make sure Carol's awake and pass this on to her." She said when she was finished eating and reading.

"Yes, please do." Nanny said as she cleared Bonnie's spot at the table for her. "It's about time she got up! The morning is nearly over."

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Carol?" Bonnie called as she opened the door to rouse her sleeping cousin. Carol mumbled something that sounded like 'five more minutes' and rolled over. Bonnie smiled wryly. Carol looked so cute all cuddled up in her sheets that it was almost a shame to wake her. Almost. "Rise and shine!" Bonnie said as she opened the curtains, letting in the sunlight. "Lazy Carol, will you get up~? Will you get up? Will you get up~? Lazy Carol, will you get up, so early in the morning~?" She sang teasingly.

"No, Bonnie, I won't get up~!" Carol moaned back drowsily. "I won't get up~! I won't get up~! No, Bonnie, I won't get up, so early in the morning~!" She finished more energetically, waking up as she sang. "What time is it?" Carol asked.

"Time to get out of bed." Bonnie answered with a Cheshire cat grin. "And, before you ask, here it is." She added, handing over the morning paper.

"Whoa! Yesterday's event became today's headline!" Carol exclaimed when she saw it, now completely wide awake. "Such a catchy title!" She said, sweat-dropping. She shuddered.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked.

"Ah… Yes, I just remembered that 'illusion' we talked about the other day. But you and Jimmy are right! There's no way a human could travel to 3000 years ago! I must forget it!" Carol said, shaking her head. 'Even though everything felt too real to be an illusion…That's impossible in reality, plus there wasn't any evidence. It must have been an illusion.' She decided. "I must have seen an illusion like that because I was scared, so embarrassing!" She said aloud as she got out of bed and began pacing her room, crumpling up the newspaper pages in her hands.

"It's not that bad, Carol." Bonnie said. "Everyone gets scared sometimes. I mean, look at me. I'm scared of water snakes."

"But that's something real." Carol said, sweat-dropping again. "And I think most people would be scared of something like that."

"Wa—Miss Carol!" Nanny Marie exclaimed when she entered the room to join them and saw that not only was Carol still in her pajamas, bit there was now trash on the floor. "What happened? You are sixteen already! How can you still walk around throwing trash in your pajamas_!_?"

"Nanny is so mean!" Carol pouted as she ducked behind her older and taller cousin for cover.

"It's already very late, Miss Carol! So don't complain anymore!" Nanny said sternly. "I was especially asked by Madam Lido in the US to keep a good eye on you!"

'Yikes!' Carol thought. Why was she the only one who ever got I trouble? They never yelled at Bonnie like this!

"First, I'm completely against girls playing with dirt!" Nanny stated firmly.

"Aw, but it's so much fun." Bonnie said playfully with a fake pout.

"But I'm not playing with dirt!" Carol said defensively. "It's part of research for archaeology. How can I explain this so you understand?"

"If we don't dig it up, then we can't study it?" Bonnie suggested helpfully.

"Yes, that!" Carol agreed.

"It's not that much different from playing with dirt!" Nanny Marie said stubbornly, giving them a sharp glare. "Everyday you come back with dirt everywhere, and at night you stay up so late playing with those dirt pieces!"

"Dirt pieces_!_?" Carol said incredulously. "I was translating the ancient clay board_!_!"

"You're so cold, I was saying it for your own good!" Nanny sobbed melodramatically into her handkerchief. The two girls sweat-dropped. Wasn't that a bit much? She was clearly trying to guilt trip them into listening to her. "Look at Miss Isis!" Nanny continued, pointing out the window. They had a clear view of the older girl as she leaned down gracefully to smell some of the flowers in the courtyard below. "If the two of you could just be a tenth more like that elegant young lady… then next year, you could enter the Miss America pageant." She sniffed.

'Why on earth would we want to waste our time being paraded around like pieces of meat?' Bonnie thought wryly, sweat-dropping. She didn't need a panel of judges to tell her who and what she was.

"Listen to yourself!" Carol said with a huff as she started to get dressed for the day, not caring that they were still in the room since Nanny had been taking care of her since she was in diapers, and she and Bonnie had shared a room before. "Going on and on… So talkative!" Like Bonnie, she wasn't the least bit interested in participating in something like that.

"You must look further ahead!" Nanny continued to lecture them.

"But I already have a scholarship to pay for college." Bonnie reminded her.

"I mean as a lady_!_! Don't you want to get married someday_!_?" Nanny snapped a little impatiently.

"Yeah, maybe someday." Bonnie answered frankly. "But even if I don't, as a doctor, I'll be able to support myself, so…" Nanny Marie stared at her in astonishment, as if she had just said something sacrilege. "It's 1976, Nanny Marie. Modern women can do pretty much whatever they want now."

"Well, I never_!_!" Nanny huffed indignantly before launching into a righteous 'back in my day' speech. She knew Bonnie was a good girl, but her unorthodox upbringing had clearly made her far too liberal! Bonnie let out a sigh and just tuned her out until she started sounding like the adults from _Charlie Brown_. Meanwhile, Carol, who had finished putting on an outfit with shorts, decided to take a more proactive approach towards ending Nanny's lecture and discretely dropped a small box on the floor and slid it closer to the older woman with her foot.

'Isn't that…?' Bonnie thought, recognizing the open box, as she and Nanny both noticed the small motion out the corner of their eyes and turned to look just as several beetles came crawling out of it.

"Wah_!_! Oh gosh! Cockroaches! Master Rody!" Nanny Marie cried in alarm, jumping back, as Carol and made a run for it.

"They're just scarab beetles, Nanny..." Bonnie said, sweat-dropping. She squatted down and used the box to scoop the insects back up before someone squashed them. Well, technically, they were a sort of dung beetle, so maybe Nanny's reaction was a little justified…

"Ah, Bonnie, you don't have to…" Rody said, trailing off as he entered the room and saw how swiftly she had managed to corral the bugs back into their box without any casualties.

"Thanks, Rody. But I've got it." She said clamly with a smile, closing the box. She wasn't bothered in the slightest.

'That's right… She's used to dealing with stuff like this.' He remembered. Before she had come to live with them, Bonnie had been living the kind of life where she occasionally even _ate _bugs…

'Like Bonnie said, those were Egyptian Scarab beetles.' Carol thought with a mischievous grin as she rushed out of the house. 'Nanny must be blind!' She was pleasantly surprised to see two familiar figures making their way up the path to the house as she burst through the front door. "Ah! Daddy! Brother Ryan! Welcome!" She called out to them with a bright smile. "When did you arrive?"

"Hi, Carol!" Ryan greeted his little sister affectionately. "We just got here at one o'clock."

"Carol is energetic as always." Mr. Lido remarked cheerfully.

"Master Ryan, please catch Carol for me!" Nanny called out. "She is already sixteen and still plays pranks on me!"

'Oh, crap! I'm screwed.' Carol thought as she tried to skid to a halt, but it was too late, she already within Ryan's reach. Her oldest brother snatched her up with ease.

"Caught!" He declared with a smirk. "What did you do to Nanny Marie this time?"

"Wah! Wah! That's low!" Carol cried out in dismay as she struggled futilely to escape. Regardless of the fact that it happened to be true, why did he have to automatically assume that_ she_ was the one at fault?

"Master Ryan, please discipline her well!" Nanny said firmly. "You've arrived just in time!" She added as Ryan dragged Carol back inside for her punishment.

"Wah!" Carol cried out when he plopped himself down onto a chair and bent her over his knee for a good spanking. "Big Brother! I'm not a child anymore! Don't spank a lady!" She shouted, mortified to find herself receiving such a punishment at her age.

"I'm spanking you because you aren't lady-like." Ryan told her. He'd stop punishing her like a child when she stopped misbehaving like one.

"Eeya! No! No! Brother Ryan is the worst!" Carol cried.

"Hahaha, What? Admitting defeat?" He asked as he finally relented, leaning back in his chair like a boss.

"Meany!" Carol said, massaging her poor abused bottom, while Nanny took her father's coat.

"Go change into one of your dresses." Mr. Lido gently chided his rambunctious daughter. "If you still aren't lady-like, we'll tell your mother in America!"

"Oh, so lively in here!" Rody remarked as he and Bonnie entered the room to join them. "Hi, Dad, Brother!"

"Welcome! It's good to see you again!" Bonnie greeted her kind uncle and slick oldest cousin with a warm smile and a hug. "I take it you got caught?" She asked Carol, noting her sour expression and teary eyes.

"You got caught? Good one, Carol!" Rody said with a teasingly. "You don't stand a chance when it comes to big brother Ryan."

'None of us do.' Bonnie thought wryly as Carol brushed past her second oldest brother and left the room in a huff, remembering all the times he had managed to get the best of her as well. Ryan was the reigning champion.


	8. Chapter 8

**Previously:**

_"Welcome! It's good to see you again!" Bonnie greeted her kind uncle and slick oldest cousin with a warm smile and a hug. "I take it you got caught?" She asked Carol, noting her sour expression and teary eyes._

_"You got caught? Good one, Carol!" Rody said with a teasingly. "You don't stand a chance when it comes to big brother Ryan."_

_'None of us do.' Bonnie thought wryly as Carol brushed past her second oldest brother and left the room in a huff, remembering all the times he had managed to get the best of her as well. Ryan was the reigning champion._

* * *

**Chapter 8: Wolves in Sheep's Wool**

* * *

"Oh, yes, Rody! Has the stolen mummy been found yet?" Mr. Lido asked as Carol returned from changing into a an orange polka-dotted dress.

"About that… there hasn't been a trace." Rody reported with regret.

"Nothing at all?" Bonnie asked, frowning. "That's really strange…"

"Daddy, I don't want to go to the excavation site anymore." Carol said, surprising them.

"Why is that, Carol?" Mr. Lido asked.

"I've been thinking about this, and… although this is just a part of research for archaeology, what we dig up are really only old, dirty tombs." She said a bit nervously.

"Carol…" Bonnie said, concerned. Was this because of what happened yesterday…?

"Plus, the homicide case…" Carol added, looking down. "Dad, I'll give up after all…"

"No, don't stop!" Mr. Lido said urgently.

"That's right, Carol! Becoming an archaeologist has been your dream for years!" Bonnie said encouragingly. "Besides, not every archaeological site is a tomb. Don't let yourself be defeated here, or you'll end up regretting it."

"Dad… Bonnie…" Carol said, moved by their concern.

"Besides, the excavation of the tomb has been huge news in every corner of the world." Her dad added. "The media has been fighting to cover it. It has been my company's most publicized project."

"Carol, the sole intention of Dad and I in this project is to publicize the Lido Company. This is the only way to increase our profits." Ryan explained calmly as he smoked his cigarette. They were still recovering from the gas and oil crisis that had started back in '73.

'Oh, so it's also business concern…' Bonnie thought, sweat-dropping. Of course... That's right, her uncle and Ryan were both incurable workaholics.

"Oh, Daddy, you don't understand!" Carol said, getting upset again. "The feeling of entering that tomb, once sealed with good wishes thousands of years ago… You all don't understand… I was once excited too, looking forward to everything! But once I stepped into the tomb, I felt the great distance in time between now and then. It had been over three thousand years... No one had ever bothered this place, quietly sleeping here in the darkness… Three thousand years of undisturbed sleep for the dead, those thoughtful people of the past must have put in a countless amount of effort in order to build such a tomb… I could almost hear the voices of those people speaking, 'Please… Don't disturb the eternal sleep of our beloved… Please… Don't disturb… Please… Do not disturb…' That's why I'm against it. If this is for money, then I'm completely against it!" She finished adamantly.

"I'm different. I just want to stop those tomb raiders." Rody said a bit defensively.

"Carol's opinion is just the emotions of a pure young lady." Ryan said a bit dismissively. "Right, Bonnie? I'm sure you also feel as Carol does."

"What I feel doesn't really matter in this case, does it?" Bonnie retorted calmly as Nanny returned with a pot of fresh coffee to serve everyone. "You and uncle have the final say, and there's no way you'd let emotions interfere with business, right?"

"It's just as Miss Bonnie says, Carol." Nanny said. "Please just let your dad and the others decide on this business! They won't listen to other people's opinions. Everyone hasn't seen each other in so long! Have some coffee and take your time chatting." She finished on a brighter note.

"Even Nanny Marie doesn't support me!" Carol huffed in disappointment. "Not fair!"

"Hahaha! Bonnie and Nanny sure understand people well." Mr. Lido said good-naturedly as he and the boys laughed while Bonnie sipped her coffee.

CLACK.

Mr. Lido and Ryan glanced up when they heard a door open and saw Isis enter the room, carrying an armful of freshly picked flowers.

'Wow… What a beautiful woman…' They thought, surprised to see that they had a visitor. Isis seemed just as taken aback to see them, because she stopped for a moment before continuing forward with her usual grace to greet them.

"I believe this is our first time meeting." Isis said politely, extending her hand to Mr. Lido as he stood up to meet her while Ryan remained seated. "Please take good care of me, my name is Isis."

"Oh, no…" Mr. Lido said, blushing a little bashfully as he accepted her hand. For some reason, the dress she had on seemed familiar. "Not at all…"

"Isis has been staying with us as our guest." Bonnie explained, noticing the puzzled looks on her uncle's and Ryan's faces. "You see…"

–∞–

"So, it's like that?" Mr. Lido said thoughtfully after hearing Bonnie's explanation for why they had decided to let Isis stay with them. "You are looking for your little brother, and he is very hard to find? Let us help you, then! Please feel free to stay here temporarily!" He told Isis Kindly.

"Thank you!" Isis said with a polite smile.

"Miss Isis is so elegant and such a beauty!" Ryan remarked. "My mother is always worried about our clumsy Carol and tomboyish Bonnie. Please help them turn into true ladies, just like you!" Carol nearly choked on her coffee.

"Geez, listen to you! You've only been back a few minutes, and you're already teasing us." Bonnie said with a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"Brother Ryan is so annoying!" Carol grumbled in annoyance.

"Big brother is just worried about you." Rody said with a smile.

"So what's the name of your little brother?" Mr. Lido asked Isis.

"His name is Memphis." She replied.

_CLACK!_

They were all surprised when Carol's eyes widened in shock, and she abruptly shot to her feet and knocked over her coffee cup.

"Carol!" Mr. Lido exclaimed, taken aback, as Bonnie furrowed her brow with concern.

"What is it?" Ryan asked. "Why are you so surprised?"

'Isis…' Carol thought, staring at the older girl like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Carol, you cut your finger!" Nanny cried in alarm when it started to bleed.

"I'll go get a Band-Aid!" Bonnie said, immediately leaving to fetch the first aid kit.

"Carol, don't move..." Isis said calmly, gently holding Carol's finger to her lips so she could lick her wound for her.

"Ah…" Carol gasped, feeling uneasy at first. 'Isis… This sweet Isis couldn't be that queen, right?' She thought, allowing herself to relax. 'That was just an illusion of three thousand years ago. Comparing Isis to that person would be so rude!'

"Here you go!" Bonnie said as she returned with the first aid kit, giving her cousin's finger a quick spray with the antiseptic before applying a Band-Aid. That was real sweet of Isis and all, but _germs_. Contrary to what most people seemed to think, when humans tried to lick open wounds, it generally only made the problem worse.

Since neither of the girls had school, the Lido family spent the rest of the day catching up and enjoying each other's company.

–∞–

**The next day, ****_  
_****Cairo University**

Carol was brushing up on her history of Ancient Egypt again in the school library while Jimmy was playing soccer. It was a little hard to concentrate with all the fuss they were making outside.

"Hey, Carol!" Jimmy shouted as he ran over to talk to her through the open window. "Hey! For this year's school anniversary parade, come with me!"

"Why do I have to come with you?" She asked, looking up from her book. He was dripping with sweat from running around in the heat.

"Eh?" Jimmy said a bit nervously, as if he hadn't expected any opposition. "For a friendless person like you, of course I'll take good care of you!" He said, laughing it off.

"Jimmy, break is over! What are you doing?" His friends shouted, calling him back.

"J-Jimmy!" Carol yelled after him as he quickly ran away, fuming. "Annoying! I'm so mad at him!" She huffed. What was he talking about? Jimmy thought he was so great… She had plenty of friends!

"Carol, just agree." One of the girls in her class encouraged her.

"Why?" Carol asked, still pouting.

"It's Jimmy! Even the older girls are smitten with him." Another said excitedly.

"He's always mean to me, so…" Carol started to argue, when she noticed something was wrong with her friend Maria. She looked really upset about something. "Maria, what's wrong?" Carol asked, concerned.

"Harry won't talk to me. He hid in the research lab all day, dreaming about Isis…" Maria cried.

"Eh? Isis came to the research lab?" Carol said, taken aback. "Let's go look!"

"Wah! A beauty came to school!" Someone they heard someone exclaim as they approached the lab together.

"Even Cleopatra couldn't compare to her!"

'So noisy…' Carol thought with a sigh as she maneuvered her way through the crowd.

"Carol!" Professor Brown said when he spotted her. "I have found a superb assistant, it's Miss Isis!"

"Professor Brown!" Carol said, surprised. He looked positively smitten!

"She can understand all the ancient Egyptian texts without a problem, and she's a well-learned beauty~" He gushed.

"Professor, you're so in love…" Carol teased slyly.

"Plus, she has been studying Egyptian history since she was young." He added as they walked over to Isis and the mob of admirers surrounding her.

"Eh, so she's into archaeology…?" Carol asked.

"Please read this, Miss Isis!" Professor Brown asked eagerly, handing her one of the ancient tests so she could demonstrate her abilities for Carol.

"To publicize our glory as Egyptians…" Isis began reading easily.

'Ah! I spent months on those Egyptian texts and couldn't understand them!' Carol thought. "So amazing, Isis!" She praised the cool beauty.

'Ah… everyone has been mesmerized by Isis…' Maria thought as she watched them make a fuss over the older girl. 'Harry, the professor, researchers… and now even Carol…

"Isis, please teach me some historical stories!" Carol said excitedly. "Like stories of ancient secrets!"

'Innocent child… I would love to tell you, even though your life is already in the palm of my hand…' Isis thought deviously, hiding her true intentions behind a pleasant smile.

–∞–

**Later, that evening…**

Carol had just finished putting on her outfit for the evening. In addition to the parade, her school was also having a dance, so she was dressed up in a nice dress with a cute short-sleeved evening coat over it and matching heels. She was just finishing putting on her earrings as she walked out of her room and nearly bumped into Bonnie in the hall.

Bonnie was looking especially glamorous in some silver platform sandals, a zig-zag patterned Missoni jumpsuit with a matching headband, a crocheted shrug, and some sparkly earrings.

"Huh? You're going to the parade like that?" Carol asked.

"Nope. I'm going to a disco with my friends." Bonnie replied matter-of-factly. They had been planning to go to this new international club that had just opened for a while now.

"What_!_?" Carol exclaimed, surprised that she would try to sneak out to a club with the fun police there. She knew Bonnie liked to boogie (and she was pretty good at it too), but wasn't that too much of a risk with her father and Ryan there? They were a lot stricter than Rody! "Does my dad know?"

"Yeah, I told him earlier." Bonnie replied nonchalantly. "He said it was okay as long as I was back in time for curfew."

"Really_!_?" Carol asked, staring at her in disbelief. They would never let her go to a disco, under any circumstances…!

DING-DONG~!

"Oh, that'll be Jerry!" Bonnie said with a smile, quickly heading for the door.

"Ah, is it that time already?" Mr. Lido asked as she passed the sitting room, where he, Ryan, and Rody had all been having another business discussion while they waited for Nanny to finish cooking dinner.

"Yes, my ride is here, so I'll be off now." Bonnie said brightly.

"All right, have fun!" Mr. Lido and Rody told her with pleasant smiles.

"But not _too_ much." Ryan added with the hint of a smirk.

"I know, I know. Don't worry." She said with a playful roll of her eyes.

"Hey, wait! Daddy, don't you have something to say to Bonnie?" Carol asked, surprised they didn't have anything to say about that jumpsuit or that smoky eyeliner.

"Oh, you're right, Carol!" Mr. Lido said, standing up and walking over to Bonnie. "I almost forgot… Here you go." He said, handing her some cash. "A little emergency money, in case you need to take a taxi home."

"Thanks, Uncle!" Bonnie said, giving him a hug, before tucking the money safely into her purse as she rushed out to meet her ride. Carol's jaw dropped as she stared at her father, dumbstruck by what she had just witnessed.

"You'll end up catching flies if you let your mouth hang open like that." Ryan remarked as he lit up another cigarette.

"W-Why does Bonnie get to go to a disco_!_?" Carol asked incredulously as she suddenly rounded on them, feeling a little jealous. What was with this huge difference in treatment_!_?

"Because she's too much like her mother. Once Bonnie decides she _really _wants to do something, she'll find a way, even if we try to stop her. At least this way, we'll know for sure where she is and what she'll be doing." Her father answered practically, smiling fondly at the memory of his late and very dear (but somewhat eccentric) sister. Fortunately, Bonnie was a bit more responsible, so they could trust her not to go looking for trouble. She always kept her word.

"Besides, Bonnie can take care of herself." Ryan added. She knew better than to make them worry by missing her curfew, and unlike Carol, Bonnie knew how to defend herself against any unwanted attackers. For a seventeen-year-old girl, his cousin was rather formidable. "Unlike a certain someone, who refused to take any self-defense classes…"

"But!" Carol said, flinching when she realized he had her there. "Then why didn't you didn't make her change into a dress?"

"Well, we have our reasons…" Ryan said cryptically as he shared a significant look with his father and brother. Men were wolves, and that stylish yet modest one-piece jumpsuit Bonnie had on would be a lot harder for a guy to try to get into than regular pants or a skirt…

Of course, none of them actually knew Bonnie was dating Jerry, because she knew that was crossing the line, and they would get overprotective and freak out… But Bonnie was a pretty girl, so they had no doubt some idiot would try something eventually…


	9. Chapter 9

**Previously:**

_"Besides, Bonnie can take care of herself." Ryan added. She knew better than to make them worry by missing her curfew, and unlike Carol, Bonnie knew how to defend herself against any unwanted attackers. For a seventeen-year-old girl, his cousin was rather formidable. "Unlike a certain someone, who refused to take any self-defense classes…"_

_"But!" Carol said, flinching when she realized he had her there. "Then why didn't you didn't make her change into a dress?"_

_"Well, we have our reasons…" Ryan said cryptically as he shared a significant look with his father and brother. Men were wolves, and that stylish yet modest one-piece jumpsuit Bonnie had on would be a lot harder for a guy to try to get into than regular pants or a skirt…_

_Of course, none of them actually knew Bonnie was dating Jerry, because she knew that was crossing the line, and they would get overprotective and freak out… But Bonnie was a pretty girl, so they had no doubt some idiot would try something eventually…_

* * *

**Chapter 9: A Death in the Family**

* * *

"Hey, are you all right?" Jerry asked Bonnie as they worked on their still life in basic drawing the next day. "You look exhausted."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night." She replied, covering her mouth as she yawned. "After you dropped me back home last night, I found out someone was murdered in the research lab, and Carol kept having flashbacks of that time she had a panic attack in the tomb, so I stayed up and sat with her all night."

"Heh. You and your cousin are really close, huh?" Jerry asked. He was a little a jealous. Bonnie was really good at taking care of other people.

"Yeah, we didn't see much of each other before, but ever since—"

_SNAP._

"!" Bonnie said when her graphite pencil suddenly split right down middle as she was sketching.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" Jerry asked, stunned that a brand new pencil would do something like that. She hadn't even been pressing down that hard…

"Uh, yeah… I'm all right." She said, frowning slightly at the broken pencil. 'For some reason, I feel really uneasy, like something bad is about to happen…'

–∞–

Carol had come home from school early because she wasn't feeling well, and even though she didn't have a fever, Nanny had insisted it was cold, so Mr. Lido was looking for some medicine, when he stumbled upon Isis, who was holding a snake in her delicate hands.

_"Isis! What are you doing?"_ He asked, turning pale with worry when he saw what she was doing. _"Isn't that a cobra!_?"

"Ah… I've been caught?" She asked calmly as she turned to look at him. "To let you taste some pain, I thought I'd kill Carol, but… There's no choice now…" She said with a devious smirk as she faced him.

"What_!_? You… You… _Who are you really?"_ He asked, alarmed by her sudden change in character.

"Hahaha_!_!" Isis laughed boldly. "Good question, Lido! I am Queen Isis."

"What! Queen?" He asked, taken aback. Was she mad as well_!_?

"The sister of Pharaoh Memphis, ruler of the land of Egypt, Isis…" She elaborated proudly. "The tomb you ruined was the tomb of my brother, Pharaoh Memphis!" She raised the hand holding the venomous snake. "The enemies of the Pharaoh will be cursed… Die Lido!" She yelled, throwing the deadly cobra at him.

"Agh_!_!_!_" Lido cried out as it sank its poisonous fangs into his neck.

–∞–

As she was headed to her next class, Bonnie was paged when she received an urgent call from home.

"Hello?" She said a little warily when she picked up the school phone. Something about the timing of the call felt ominous. "Whoa, wait! Slow down, Rody, I can't—_!_?" Bonnie gasped in shock and her eyes widened in horror as what he was trying to tell her sunk in. The phone's receiver slipped from her hand as she fell to her knees, feeling sick. She held a hand over her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. "No…" She let out a whimper. It couldn't be… It had happened again… This had to be a nightmare! She clenched her fists as her tears dropped to the floor. Both her uncle and Carol had been bitten by a cobra. Carol was in critical condition, and her uncle was dead. "Why can't I ever save them_!_?" She cried. She was tired of losing the people she loved, and now her cousins had lost one of their parents, too... She wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone! 'When Carol finds out, she'll…' Bonnie thought, freezing for a moment. 'That's right. Carol's still in trouble!' She sniffed a little as she pulled herself together and dried her eyes. 'I can't just here_!_!' Feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to fix anything, and no amount of crying in the world could bring back the dead. She could hear Rody calling her name over the phone as it dangled from the cord. He was still on the line. She picked it up again.

"Bonnie! Are you all right?" Rody asked, concerned she had taken so long to answer him.

"Yes." Bonnie replied evenly, steeling her resolve. "I'll be right there." She said determinedly, hanging up so she could rush to her family's side.

—∞—

'Those who disturb the Pharaoh's sleep will be punished…' Isis thought with a smirk as she read the article about Mr. Lido's death and Carol's dire condition in the newspaper the following morning, remembering the note with the ancient curse she had left pinned to Lido's body. She had to quickly return to a more neutral expression as Bonnie came down into the kitchen to fetch some more cool water for Carol's compress. While the rest of the family had gone to lay Mr. Lido to rest at the funeral, Bonnie had insisted she stay behind to care for Carol, even though Isis had very 'kindly' offered to do it herself so that they could all attend.

But Bonnie wasn't taking any chances. As much as she wanted to attend her uncle's funeral and say good bye to him alongside her aunt (who had flown in for the funeral) and older cousins, Carol was the one who needed her the most right now. Her younger cousin was still feverish and completely out if thanks to that cobra. The doctor had managed to administer the antivenom in time to save her life, but she was still fighting off a coma. In her current state, Carol was very weak and vulnerable, and Bonnie no longer trusted Isis. Even though she had welcomed her into their home along with Carol in the beginning, after hearing all the details of the latest crime from Rody and eavesdropping on the police while they were talking to Ryan, the last thing she wanted to do was leave her cousin alone with that woman. The culprit behind her uncle's murder and Carol's attempted murder had used an ancient Egyptian method of assassination, and the note they left behind about the curse had also been written in ancient Egyptian. No one witnessed an strangers or suspicious-looking people coming and going from the house at the time… but when you thought about it, there was one, hiding right in plain sight—Isis. Bonnie didn't want to believe it, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something very dangerous about their guest now… What did they really know about her? Not much, other than that she was supposedly looking for a missing brother, and she was so fluent in Ancient Egyptian that one might think it had been her first language and knew more about ancient Egyptian history than anyone. Like Isis, the culprit obviously had knowledge in Archaeology, no one seemed to be able to recall exactly what she had been doing at the time, and, as a guest in their house, she would have been in the perfect position to come and go as she pleased without immediately rousing suspicion. And looking back now, the day they took her in was also the day the first corpses had been discovered… Bonnie shuddered and shook her head to clear it. It was all circumstantial at best, she didn't have any proof.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you, Carol." She said, squeezing her unconscious cousin's hand after she finished refreshing the damp rag on her feverish forehead. 'Don't worry, Uncle, you can rest in peace. I'll be sure to protect her.' She promised silently, aiming her thoughts towards heaven.


End file.
